


Wayward Daughters

by Xygdrasil



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Character Death, F/F, Light Angst, Post-Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood, what are feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:36:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24636934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xygdrasil/pseuds/Xygdrasil
Summary: "Her happiness was never to be... Not in this world."No matter how much she clenched her fists. No matter how hard she grit her teeth. No matter how much frustration coursed through her veins... She could not deny this irrefutable fact.
Relationships: Yotsuyu goe Brutus/Yugiri Mistwalker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Wayward Daughters

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dragonsong (NekoAisu)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoAisu/gifts).



> Fic trade with Kiri!  
> Not gonna lie, I was super nervous about doing this. I hope you enjoy this fic though! ;-;

_"What's the matter? The Witch of Doma will soon be dead."_

That's right. This should have been cause for celebration. So why did her heart feel so heavy as she said those words with a smile? Why did such rage fill her veins as Asahi's bullets tore through her enemy's body? This woman had tormented her people - their people - and yet she cannot help but fight the urge to rush to her side.

_"Tsuyu deserved a kinder fate."_

Yugiri watched vigilantly as Domans were released from Garlean grips, their imprisonment finally over. Happy tears and hearty hugs were passed along between those who were previous imprisoned and their waiting relatives who were left behind. A reunion they feared would not be within their lifetimes. She should be happy. They freed their people and took down two high ranking Garleans. They suppressed and defeated a primal. They're on track to liberating Doma. So why? Why couldn't she shake those words out of head?

_"Her happiness was never to be... Not in this world."_

No matter how much she clenched her fists. No matter how hard she grit her teeth. No matter how much frustration coursed through her veins... She could not deny this irrefutable fact.

Yugiri is no stranger to suppressing her emotions in order to complete her mission, but perhaps even the Mistwalker was unable to hide her conflicted manner from Hakuro as they departed on their mission to offer the alliance proposal to the eastern factions. 

"You seem distracted as of late." the lupin observed as soon as they left the earshot range of the others. "What could be bothering you so much to give off that kind of aura, Mistwalker?" 

"...Idle musings. Pray pay me no mind."

"Come now, it's a long ways back home. And even further to Bukyo for that proposal."

"We should focus on that. With the damages done to Dalmasca by the Garleans and how closed off Hingashi is, it will be a difficult endeavor to convince the factions to join the Eastern Alliance." Yugiri kept her eyes forward, her gaze distant and unfocused. Hakuro heaved out a sigh as they neared the airship, unable to pry further.

"In that case, we should probably split up. The faster we give our proposals, the sooner we can get their answers." Hakuro stopped in front of the door, barring Yugiri from entering. "Why don't I head to Dalmasca and Bukyo, and you take on those in Othard? There's no time to waste, after all." the Lupin opened the door, passing through. As he was about to close the door behind him, Hakuro lowered his voice. "Take this time to confront what you need to, Mistwalker. Otherwise it will cost you in the future." Before Yugiri could respond, he shut the door behind him, leaving the distressed au ra to find passage on a ferry.

-

Her first destination was the Ruby Sea. Between the Kojins and the Confederacy, she spent much time discussing the alliance, pushing her thoughts and feelings to the back of her mind as well as she could. Leaving to give them time to mull over their answer, Yugiri waited patiently in Isari as the ferryman readied to set out once more. She still had other places to visit in Othard. As she climbed aboard, she could not help but overhear the various triumphant conversations that diverged into one topic: the Witch of Doma's death.

The rest of her visits in the Ruby Sea went by in a hazy blur, unable to keep her personal thoughts to the back of her mind after hearing the voices in Isari. She returned to Kugane, seeking a moment's reprieve in the shade, blankly watching residents go about their day. All the voices muddled against the thoughts that raged on in her head. Despite that, her ears caught the familiar cry of a dango stand seller. Against her usual and better judgment, she made her way over, purchasing the colorful treat before she retreated back to her earlier resting place. They ferryman waved her back over, ready for their next destination after restocking on supplies. She climbed aboard, merely nodding to the ferryman as he made small chat. Her gaze remain glued to the dango in her hand, idly rolling the skewered treat.

"...Why did I obtain this?" she muttered to herself, though she knew full well why. Memories took hold of her, and she found herself staring at the dango in the hands of another.

"Would... you like one?" Yugiri could not believe how timid the voice sounded. Quiet, scared, cautious... yet a little bit of hope. It was a stark contrast to the authoritative voice that ordered the prosecution and torture of her own people. The Witch of Doma, Yotsuyu-

"Tsuyu," Gosetsu's voice was weak as he forced himself to sit up from his futon, much to the amnesiac woman's dismay as she quickly moved to his side. "Enough with the fussing... why don't you get some fresh air? I'm sure it will be fine as long as Yugiri accompanies you." Before the au ra could protest, Tsuyu was already by her side at the samurai's behest, offering the dango once more. She flashed Gosetsu a look, to which he shrugged. "I do not wish to come across another case like Jifuya. I trust you with her care."

Yugiri looked down at the dango in her hand, and then to the woman who was also similarly entrusted to her care. An uncharacteristic, gentle smile filled Tsuyu's face as petals were carried in the wind, coming across their pathway. She reached out, jumping to catch the nearest one, running back to Yugiri to proudly show how many she had in her hands. Unable to forget Yotsuyu, she was unable to smile at the childish Tsuyu who simply wanted to befriend her.

"You're a friend too, aren't you?" the innocent question played through her mind over and over again as she looked away, offering the dango back to her. Not looking too much into the conflicted emotions that hid behind Yugiri's stoic face, Tsuyu accepted the skewered treat gleefully, immediately digging in as they continued to walk through the lonely dirt path. Gosetsu protected, and even seemingly wanted to trust, Tsuyu. Despite everything that had happened. Despite everything she had done. How could he blindly trust her so? Let her be by his side while he lay bedridden? She was their enemy. The person who tormented their people. Just because she couldn't remember, didn't mean they could just forgive and forget it all. Too many had suffered in her hands, and yet-

"Come on!" the hand that grasped hers was soft and gentle, nothing like she would have expected it to be. The hands that curled around the smoking pipe looked nothing like the ones that entwined with hers. Small, soft, and delicate. Yugiri let herself get dragged along, tearing her eyes away from their hands long enough to see the back of Tsuyu's head, bewitched by how silky her long, straight black hair flowed in the evening breeze.

_"Surely, this is a trick of the light. A genjutsu, perhaps?"_ that thought was her last anchor to push away any other feeling than the animosity she should feel towards her. Yet she could not fully bring herself to believe it at all. The smile that radiated innocence and kindness, the laugh that rang like music in her ears, the gentle hand that softly held onto hers, the sweet fragrance that seemed to spill from her hair. If this was an illusion, then Yotsuyu was doing a damn good job at convincing not only Gosetsu, but the stoic shinobi who swore to keep her heart steady for the sake of Doma. So how is it that she forces it to tremble so easily?

"Ah, this is for you." A change in Tsuyu's tone broke through her thoughts, a hand reaching up to capture her jaw, forcing Yugiri to look directly into pale yellow eyes. She could have sworn, for a moment, that they seemed to glint with a familiar mischievousness. Something soft pressed against her lips - the remainder of the skewered treat fed directly to her. Her jaw slack, Yugiri did not resist the treat's passage, but neither did she consume it as the glint disappeared and a gentle chuckle seemed to glissando like chimes in her ears. Slender fingers pressed against her lips momentarily, yet it felt like eternity before they slid away from her. "You didn't refuse when I offered you some."

"I gave no indication of accepting it, either." Yugiri bit hard into the dango despite her remark, jaw taut against the chewy treat.

"Yet you still ate it."

"One shouldn't waste food."

"Gosetsu would say much the same." That smile again. The au ra tore her gaze away, instead watching the descent of the sun reflecting the remainder of its rays on the Prism Lake. "So you are a friend!" Yugiri remained silent as the light left the lake, hiding behind the mountain and disappearing altogether, before consuming the last of the dango.

"We're here, miss." said the ferryman. His voice barely registered in her head before she nodded, planting her feet onto the makeshift bamboo docks. Murmuring her thanks, she made short work of the trek towards the village of Namai. As she surveyed the few residents going about their day in the farming village, she recalled the Tsuyu who kneeled before them, begging for forgiveness for a crime she could not remember, yet was a fresh wound to everyone else. A sincere apology for someone who no longer remembered the bitterness that life had dealt her, and in return, spat that same bitterness back at those around her.

On the trek back from Namai, she could not help but notice the look in those pale yellow eyes that stung her very core like poison. Unable to simply leave it at that and against better judgment, Yugiri insisted on bringing Tsuyu back to the farming village at night, the two watching the flickering of light die as the last of them had gone off to bed from afar. From the lake by the Heron's Flight, they were far enough away to avoid getting caught by a stray farmhand, as the two remained silent in each other's company. 

"I've done something terrible, haven't I? Something irredeemable." her voice was small as she spoke, the gentle night breeze threatening to hide her words if one was not paying attention. "Something beyond forgiveness..." Tsuyu tensed up, her knuckles turning white. "Perhaps it would simply be better if I-" Yugiri grabbed her wrist, startling the hyuran woman.

"Ending your own life will not absolve you of your crimes." Tsuyu stiffened as the shinobi tightened her grip on her. "Do you mean to mock those you've tortured? To half-heartedly give yourself the easy way out without even remembering their last moments?" Yugiri's voice raised, unable to contain herself as she gripped tighter and tighter until-

"Yugiri!" she gasped, immediately letting go of Tsuyu's wrist, turning her head away. "Thank you, Yugiri." she said quietly after a short silence, reaching out to retrieve the hand that backed away from her. She did not resist. "You're right. How could I take the coward's path without even knowing why?" Tsuyu rested her forehead against Yugiri's hand, the latter remaining silent as she tried to calm her bursting heart, refusing to look at her. "When it comes to that..." she moved her head back to plant a kiss against the back of her hand. Tsuyu placed a flower in the shinobi's hand, a sorrowful smile coming across her face as she watched the au ra's hand gently take hold of it. "...I hope to meet you on the other shore."

Yugiri sighed, sitting atop the cliff that overlooked the Prism Lake. Moonlight shone on the colorful water surfaces, the crystals twinkling as it caught the light. As she gazed at the full moon, her thoughts did not allow her to forget. It did not allow her to hide away and push the memories and her feelings to the back of her mind. She could not allow it to hinder her anymore. Yugiri held the spider lily in her hand, raising it to the moon, allowing the light from it to gently embrace and encase the flower. As she made her final promise to the moon and quietly steeled her resolve, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips to the flower.

"May we never meet again."

**Author's Note:**

> This fic may not be about Y'shtola, but...  
> Proud member of the Y'shtola Lovin' Brigade!
> 
> Come say hi! I don't bite (much):  
> @strayxyg or @xygdrasil (personal/random shenanigans)


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